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The Nobel-Prize-winning observations of gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Virgo detectors have opened an entirely new window to study the universe. The detection of the first gravitational-wave signal, GW150914, on September 14th, 2015, can be considered one of the greatest scientific milestones of all time, confirming a century-old prediction of Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. At present, gravitational waves have been detected from mergers of binary black holes and binary neutron stars. Different types of gravitational-wave signals from other sources await to be detected, as e.g. core-collapse supernovae, spinning neutron stars, white-dwarf binary mergers, and even stochastic backgrounds of astrophysical or cosmological origin.

The detection of gravitational waves is, foremost, a technological challenge. In addition, there are significant mathematical and computational difficulties hampering the process of detection. One of them involves the solution of Einstein’s gravitational field equations, either through approximate methods or by fully numerical means, to generate waveform signals to aid the identification of the event types and the inference of their physical properties. Another major computational difficulty is the analysis of large volumes of non-Gaussian, non-stationary noisy data, aggravated by the presence of transient spurious signals (glitches) that may not only disturb astrophysical signals but also mimic true signals, increasing the false-alarm rate and producing a decrease in the detectors’ duty cycle.

This workshop will bring together experts in the field of mathematical and numerical relativity, and researchers in gravitational-wave data analysis, who will discuss recent advances for the detection and reconstruction of gravitational-wave signals from advanced interferometers. It will cover aspects ranging from the formulation of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, including state-of-the-art numerical methodology for the generation of waveform templates from astrophysical systems, to gravitational-wave detector characterization, data analysis, and parameter estimation, with modern mathematical and numerical approaches.

The objectives of this conference are the same as those pursued in the Physical Interpretations of Relativity Theory (PIRT) conferences which have been held in Imperial College, London, every two years since 1988. These objectives are the physical, geometrical, and mathematical interpretations of the formal structure of Relativity Theory, and to examine the questions concerning the various interpretations of the accepted mathematical expression of the Relativity Principle.

The Conference Program of the Moscow PIRT-2019 will include papers dealing with the following major themes:– Gravitation, cosmology and large-scale structure;
– Gravitational waves and experimental tests of the relativity theory;
– Space-time, topology and differential geometry;
– Relativistic electrodynamics;
– High energy astrophysics;
– Nature and models of physical vacuum.

Postal Communications may be sent to the Secretary of PIRT-2019 Organizing Committee preferably by e-mail to Dr. Nina D. Tyannikova (dekan-fn[AT]mail.ru)
Details will be at the website: http://www.pirt.info/index.php?lang=eng

We will hold the IV Jose Plinio Baptista School on Gravitational Waves in Pedra Azul, Espirito Santo, Brazil, during October 15-19, 2018. This school is aimed at postgraduate students, the registration fee is Brazilian R$200 and the registration deadline is October 5, 2018.

In the context of the European COST Action CA16104 on Gravitational waves, black holes and fundamental physics (GWverse), grants for short term scientific missions (STSMs) are available. We are inviting you to submit proposals for STMSs starting after Nov 1, 2018 and ending before April 30, 2019 (applications outside this timeframe will be discarded).

This call starts on Sep 1 and closes Oct 15, 2018. All proposals will be reviewed and the results will be announced by Nov 1, 2018. The selection committee will take into account the geographical distribution of host and home institution, matching of funds by the host, the scientific proposal and the experience of the applicant (preference is given to Early Career Investigators).

Successful applicants will be expected to join as members of one (or more) of the Action’s Working Groups. STSM recipients should acknowledge the COST Action in any publication or talks, through the use of the COST logo and the statement “The authors would like to acknowledge networking support by the COST Action GWverse CA16104”.

STSMs are a great opportunity for all scientists within the COST Action to exchange visits, nurture collaborations, or develop new ones. Further details are available at the GWverse webpage: https://gwverse.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/stsms/
If you have any question, please contact the STSM Coordinator Andreja Gomboc: andreja.gomboc[at]ung.si

Important dates: Early registration: 20/8/2018 ; Late registration: 10/9/2018

SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT

With the detection of the binary black hole merger GW150914, we have entered the era of Gravitational Wave Astronomy, while the detection of the binary neutron star merger GW170817 was the first example of Gravitational Wave Multi-messenger observations. In the coming years, additional science runs with the LIGO and VIRGO detectors are expected to lead to exciting new discoveries, with KAGRA and LIGO-India subsequently joining the existing detectors and forming a global network. In parallel, new upgrades and new detectors are planned, whereas space-born gravitational wave detectors, such as LISA, are under intense development.

The main goal of this school is to provide an introduction to the foundations of Gravitational Waves, including theory, numerical simulations, principles of detection and astrophysical implications. Neutron Stars will be discussed in detail as one of the prime sources of gravitational waves, emphasizing the key role that gravitational wave astronomy can play in constraining the theory of gravity observationally.

The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki will welcome around 30 MSc and PhD students to attend the summer school, which will introduce them to key concepts in this exciting field as well as provide them with an opportunity to interact with experts. Advanced undergraduate students that are engaged in research projects related to the theme of the summer school may also apply.

The program of the summer school will consist of several 90’ minutes lectures on each morning, with additional exercise-style lectures and talks by members of the DAAD collaboration on each afternoon. Indicative titles for the lectures are:

The school will take place at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Partial grants for local expenses to a limited number of participants are provided by the Hellenic Astronomical Society (HEL.A.S.). The school is supported by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, by the Department of Physics and by the Section of Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mechanics. The school is also supported by a DAAD grant for the academic collaboration between the relativity groups of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Tuebingen.

A number of rooms at selected hotels have been reserved at special prices. Please note that the block reservation will be valid only until August 30, 2018, so it is advisable to make your reservation as soon as possible. After that, rooms and prices will depend on the availability of each hotel.

We are looking forward to meeting all interested participants in Thessaloniki in October!

3rd HEL.A.S. SUMMER SCHOOL AND DAAD SCHOOL
NEUTRON STARS AND GRAVITATIONAL WAVES

OCTOBER 8-12, 2018, THESSALONIKI, GREECE

Important deadlines: Early registration: 31/7/2018; Late registration: 31/8/2018.

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT

With the detection of the binary black hole merger GW150914, we have entered the era of Gravitational Wave Astronomy, while the detection of the binary neutron star merger GW170817 was the first example of Gravitational Wave Multi-messenger observations. In the coming years, additional science runs with the LIGO and VIRGO detectors are expected to lead to exciting new discoveries, with KAGRA and LIGO-India subsequently joining the existing detectors and forming a global network. In parallel, new upgrades and new detectors are planned, whereas space-born gravitational wave detectors, such as LISA, are under intense development.

The main goal of this school is to provide an introduction to the foundations of Gravitational Waves, including theory, numerical simulations, principles of detection and astrophysical implications. Neutron Stars will be discussed in detail as one of the prime sources of gravitational waves, emphasizing the key role that gravitational wave astronomy can play in constraining the theory of gravity observationally.

The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki will welcome around 30 MSc and PhD students to attend the summer school, which will introduce them to key concepts in this exciting field as well as provide them with an opportunity to interact with experts. Advanced undergraduate students that are engaged in research projects related to the theme of the summer school may also apply.

The program of the summer school will consist of several 90’ minutes lectures on each morning, with additional exercise-style lectures and talks by members of the DAAD collaboration on each afternoon. Indicative titles for the lectures are:

The school will take place at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Partial grants for local expenses to a limited number of participants are provided by the Hellenic Astronomical Society (HEL.A.S.). The school is supported by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, by the Department of Physics and by the Section of Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mechanics. The school is also supported by a DAAD grant for the academic collaboration between the relativity groups of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Tuebingen.

A number of rooms at selected hotels have been reserved at special prices. Please note that the block reservation will be valid until the registration deadline only, so it is advisable to make your reservation as soon as possible. After that, rooms and prices will depend on the availability of each hotel.

We are looking forward to meeting all interested participants in Thessaloniki in October!

Observations of astrophysical systems where gravity is extreme — highly-dynamical and/or non-linearly strong — have the potential to shed light on some of the most profound questions in physics today: from the nature of compact objects to whether Einstein’s theory accurately describes the merger of black holes. The first space-borne detector, LISA, a joint ESA-NASA mission is currently planned to be deployed in 2034, allowing for the first observation of the merger of supermassive black holes and of extreme mass-ratio inspirals. These observations will enable new accurate tests of general relativity, in particular in the strong regime.

We announce the Fundamental Physics with LISA workshop which will take place on November 12-14, 2018 at the Galileo Galilei Institute (Arcetri, Florence, IT). Its goal will be to discuss ways in which we can test General Relativity and learn about fundamental theoretical physics with future LISA observations.

For more information and registration, please visit the conference webpage: http://www.ggi.infn.it/showevent.pl?id=305

In order to encourage interaction and discussion, the workshop will bring together experts in theory, phenomenology, modeling and data analysis, and will have an unusual format. Each day will be centered around one of these facets, and consist of three topical sessions in which discussions will be moderated by a panel of three or four experts. The goal of the workshop is to foster fruitful interactions between different dimensions of LISA science. This will include the following topics:

* Model independent tests versus Model-Specific tests of GR.
* Tests of GR and inferences about physics from the inspiral of supermassive black holes.
* Tests of GR and inferences about physics from the ringdown of supermassive black hole merger.
* Tests of GR and inferences about physics from extreme mass-ratio inspirals.
* Inferences about the nature of supermassive black holes.
* Tests of superradiance and inferences about ultralight boson fields and fuzzy dark matter.
* Exotic compact objects, tests of the horizon, and GW echoes.
* Environmental effects

The number of participants is limited. The registration deadline is *Sepember 1st* or earlier if the capacity of the conference venue is reached. The conference fee (€60) includes lunch tickets for on-site catering.

In the context of the European COST Action CA16104 on Gravitational waves, black holes and fundamental physics (GWverse), grants for short term scientific missions (STSMs) are available. We are inviting you to submit proposals for STMSs starting after May 1, 2018 and ending before Nov 30, 2018 (applications outside this timeframe will be discarded).

This call starts on Feb 15 and closes Mar 30, 2018. All proposals will be reviewed and the results will be announced by Apr 15, 2018.

The selection committee will take into account the geographical distribution of host and home institution, matching of funds by the host, the scientific proposal and the experience of the applicant (preference is given to Early Career Investigators).

Successful applicants will be expected to join as members of one (or more) of the Action’s Working Groups. STSM recipients should acknowledge the COST Action in any publication or talks, through the use of the COST logo and the statement “The authors would like to acknowledge networking support by the COST Action GWverse CA16104”.

STSMs are a great opportunity for all scientists within the COST Action to exchange visits, nurture collaborations, or develop new ones. Further details are available at the GWverse webpage: https://gwverse.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/stsms/
If you have any question, please contact the STSM Coordinator Andreja Gomboc: andreja.gomboc[at]ung.si

it is a pleasure to announce the GEMMA (Gravitational-waves, ElectroMagnetic and dark MAtter) Physics Workshop to be held in Lecce (Italy) from June 4th to June 7th, 2018.

The aim of the GEMMA workshop is to discuss about gravitational waves, multimessenger astrophysics and dark matter physics at this especially exciting times, bringing together the experimental, theoretical and data analysis aspects of these apparently heterogeneous fields.

Registration is now open and Abstract Submission is welcome on these topics. Please find further information at http://www.roma1.infn.it/conference/GEMMA/index.html.

The workshop is organised in days focused around key topics introduced by invited speakers and followed by contributed talks. There will also be a poster session, together with four Young Scientist GEMMA Awards to the best poster contributions by skilled young researchers.

The scientific program will be finalised in the upcoming days.

The deadline for abstract submission is March 15th, 2018 and the deadline for early registration is February 28th, 2018.

In the context of the European COST Action CA16104 on Gravitational waves, black holes and fundamental physics (GWverse), grants for short term scientific missions (STSMs) are available. We are inviting you to submit proposals for STMSs starting after Nov 1, 2017 and before April 30, 2018 (applications outside this timeframe will be discarded).

This call starts on Sep 1 and closes Oct 15, 2017. All proposals will be reviewed and the results will be announced by Nov 1, 2017.

STSMs are a great opportunity for all scientists within the COST Action to exchange visits, nurture collaborations, or develop new ones. Further details are available at the GWverse webpage: https://gwverse.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/stsms/
If you have any question, please contact the STSM Coordinator Andreja Gomboc: andreja.gomboc[at]ung.si

This half-day meeting of the IOP Gravitational Physics Group is focused on recent observational developments of black holes. The meeting will be comprised of three speakers discussing the following topics:

This half-day meeting of the IOP Gravitational Physics Group is focused on recent observational developments of black holes. The meeting will be comprised of three speakers who will discuss the following topics:

EFTofPNG is a public Mathematica code for high precision Feynman computation in the Effective Field Theory of Post-Newtonian Gravity. The code covers the current state of the art PN accuracy including spinning components in the merging compact binaries. Its final unit computes observables useful for the waveform modelling, and serves as a pipeline chain for the wave templates.

This package was created in view of the timely need to publicly share automated computation tools, which integrate the various types of physics manifested in the expected increasing influx of gravitational waves data.

The code is available as a public repository in GitHub.

We aimed for a code accessible to the classical Gravity community, yet of possible use to the broader community.

EFTofPNG is a public Mathematica code for high precision Feynman computation in the Effective Field Theory of Post-Newtonian Gravity. The code covers the current state of the art PN accuracy including spinning components in the merging compact binaries. Its final unit computes observables useful for the waveform modelling, and serves as a pipeline chain for the wave templates.

This package was created in view of the timely need to publicly share automated computation tools, which integrate the various types of physics manifested in the expected increasing influx of gravitational waves data.

The code is available as a public repository in GitHub.

We aimed for a code accessible to the classical Gravity community, yet of possible use to the broader community.

In the context of the European COST Action CA16104 on Gravitational waves, black holes and fundamental physics, grants for short term scientific missions (STSMs) are available. We are inviting you to submit proposals for STMSs starting after July 1 and before November 30, 2017. Applications outside this timeframe will be discarded (a second call will open in September).

This call starts on May 15 and closes June 15, 2017. All proposals will be reviewed and the results will be announced by July 1, 2017.

Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) are a great opportunity for all scientists within the COST Action to exchange visits, nurture collaborations, or develop new ones. The COST association defines the STSM as exchange visits between researchers involved in a COST Action, allowing scientists to visit an institution or laboratory in another COST country.

Participants from a participating COST Country or Cooperative State can be hosted at institution in:
– another participating COST Country or Cooperative State,
– another participating COST Country or Cooperative State,
– an approved NNC (Near Neighbour Country) institution,
– an approved IPC (International Partner Country), or
– an approved Specific organization.

Participants from an approved NNC (Near Neighbour Country) institution or an approved European RTD Organization can only be hosted at another participating COST Country or cooperative state.

A European RTD Organisation is any intergovernmental scientific research organisation that is responsible for infrastructures and laboratories whose members are countries, and the majority of which are COST Member Countries or Cooperating State.

STSMs are aimed at fostering collaboration, sharing new techniques and infrastructure that may not be available in other participants’ institutions or laboratories. STSMs are of two types (more on STSM types can be found at: https://gwverse.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/stsms/stsm-types/) and are intended especially for young researchers.

The details of the application procedure can be found at:
https://gwverse.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/stsms/how-to-apply/

The exciting discovery of GW150914 has opened a new era for physics and astrophysics, which is rich of opportunities and challenges. New questions appear, and old questions are posed with renovated strength. This workshop brings together leading experts in gravitational-wave astrophysics, with the aim of discussing new frontiers in this exponentially-growing field, such as formation of black-hole binaries, multiwavelength and multimessenger astronomy, tests of gravity, neutron-star modelling, and equation-of-state extraction from gravitational-wave signals.

There will be few talks per day, three round tables, and plenty of time for discussions. The main themes to be discussed (one per day) are:

– GWs after the first detections
– GWs and neutron-star modelling
– Fundamental physics with GWs
– From ground to space

The conference on gravitational waves – mathematical, computational, astrophysical and quantum approaches. The conference will take place from the 9th (arrival day) to the 11th of December 2016 at the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw.

The first detection of gravitational waves by ground-based detectors in the 10Hz – 10 kHz frequency band is expected after advanced gravitational wave detectors now being installed and commissioned reach their full sensitivity, between 2016-2020. Signals from the known population of binary neutron stars are expected, as well as signals from other sources such as binary black holes. In addition to ground-based detectors, space based detectors for the millihertz band are under active development, pulsar timing observatories are searching for gravitational waves in the nanohertz band, and studies of the cosmic microwave background are searching for evidence for gravitational waves at ~10-16 Hz. The need for an expanded array of ground-based detectors is well understood. Expansion of the array and particularly the addition of a southern hemisphere detector will greatly improve angular resolution, array duty cycle, source galaxy identification, and source parameter estimation. The expanded array should be designed to maximise the science outcomes of gravitational wave astronomy in regard to both the fundamental testing of general relativity and astrophysical observations.

New approaches and new technologies for ground based gravitational wave detectors have been under development for a number of years. Proposed designs for future detectors were considered by the Einstein Telescope collaboration and by LIGO Scientific Collaboration “colour groups” in 2010-2012.

This KITPC Program will bring leading experts in gravitational wave astrophysics, gravitational wave detector science and engineering, quantum opto-mechanics, precision optics, fine mechanics and materials science together in a 5 week program focused on designing the next ground based detectors, and special sessions and workshops on the optimum design for space based detectors.

Future detector designs depend crucially on key enabling technologies in which there has been intense theoretical and experimental research over recent years. These include

Finally, design choices for the next ground based detectors will depend on practical considerations that include the time scale for achieving performance requirements, understanding of the risks associated with design choices, and cost trade-offs versus funding opportunities.

Week 1 will focus on the entire gravitational wave spectrum including regions targeted by pulsar timing, space laser interferometers, atom interferometers and ground based detectors. It will review the current knowledge of sources, detectors and data analysis, and identify critical areas of research in the physics of sources, gravitational wave detector science and multimessenger astronomy.

Week 2 will include the Third Beijing Workshop on Gravitational Waves (held at Tsinghua University, Beijing). The program of this workshop is centered on the following themes:

Weeks 3-4 will explore the possibilities for realistic designs for the next ground based detectors, plus workshop to explore space detector designs and their synergy with ground based detectors. Sessions will include:

Week 5 will focus on the programme outcomes: completion of the science case and conceptual design for the next ground based detectors. Publication: The outcomes will be published as a special issue of a refereed journal containing a single multi-authored design paper on the next ground based detector, a multi-authored review on space detectors and short individual contributions. Week 5 will also organize an international conference on gravitation and cosmology jointed with the 4th Galileo-Xu Guangxi meeting, to celebrate GR 100

About 50 international participants and 100 participants from China are expected to attend the KITP Program, which will take place on the Campus of the CAS-KITP in Beijing. The program will include formal presentations, workshops and informal working groups along the lines of Aspen workshops. The draft program below will be modified according to advice from the IAC and Coordinating Committee and availability of participants. Funding details for participants will be given in the second announcement.

The next few years promise to be exciting ones for the field of gravitational wave astronomy: ground-based gravitational wave detectors will begin taking data at unprecedented sensitivities; pulsar timing arrays are continuing to improve their timing accuracy; and several experiments are studying the cosmic microwave background polarisation in great detail. Together, these methods are probing a huge range of the gravitational wave spectrum, and detections will offer a wealth of new information on compact binaries, supermassive black holes, and general relativity in extreme environments from the early universe to black hole mergers.
Exploiting the datasets provided by these cutting edge observations has spurred the development of novel data analysis methods to understand gravitational wave sources.

This Royal Astronomical Society discussion meeting will bring together researchers from these diverse areas to encourage the sharing of techniques and foster further collaboration within the data analysis community.